Do bar ends only help when standing?

I have a Trek 7.5 FX and have a few really good hills in the middle of my work commute. From reading here I gather that bar ends help with hill climbing from a standing position. Also, from reading an article by Sheldon Brown he recommends not to stand when pedaling.

My question is this, are bar ends only effective from a standing position or can they be adjusted to help from a seated position as well?

Don't stand when pedaling?
That helps me stretch and also work out a different muscle group.
However, nothing helps as much as the wed. afternoon massage. Good lord I love having a massage therapist as a boss. Free massages!

Bar-ends became popular through mountain biking; riders found that they could gain some leverage and climb stronger by grabbing onto the forward-pitched bar-ends and "pulling" with your arms, especially during extra steep, technical sections. They're also good for providing an extra hand position on a mountain bike for road riding. Depending on the handlebar/stem setup, they can also put the rider into a more aero position. As far as "are they only good for climbing while standing?", I'd say no, they're good for more than that. No reason to not use them for a little more pitched forward position on the bike when climbing seated, also-

I recomend the Sette ones from PricePoint.com, they are carbon and cheaper. Also not sure if bar ends would do u much good on road climbs. Its mostly to that you can keep your traction in the rear while standing and leaning forward to keep your front wheel down.

Is it really a bad thing to use bar ends with riser bars? 'Coz I've heard people say that it is...

Rider bars tend to be wider in order to provide space for the shifters and brake levers and grips all on the outside of the rise. Because of that they usually are swept back at more of an angle to give a more ergonomic wrist angle. The sweep back makes bar ends point outward and looks goofy.

Rider bars tend to be wider in order to provide space for the shifters and brake levers and grips all on the outside of the rise. Because of that they usually are swept back at more of an angle to give a more ergonomic wrist angle. The sweep back makes bar ends point outward and looks goofy.

So it's more of an aesthetic issue and annoyance with other cyclist versus a performance issue, correct? I'll take your advice and try them out anyway. Thanks again all.

Oh yeah! At least 50% of bicycle upgrades is thinking up a performance reason for doing what you want to do to your bicycle aesthetically.

What I meant was placing bar ends on my bars because they are not flat bars would not hinder performance of the bar ends? Basically people snide at bar ends on risers just due to how it looks but not how they perform? I couldn't care much if people think it looks goofy but if the bar ends help me out I'm all for it.

Yeah. They'll work just fine. I hate not having bar ends on flat handlebar bikes. I like having the opportunity to rotate my wrists the other way and the ability to keep weight on the front wheel will determine how steep of a hill you can climb..

I see nothing wrong with them...I have a set of bar ends on my MTB and I do like them for leaning forward on a climb. I am still trying to find the most comfortable angle for them. I have changed it since this photo was taken.

I don't bother with that mtbr.com (review portion) BS
I have been using them for a couple of years with no complaints. no problem with them breaking either,as a matter of fact i just endoed not to long ago on pavement after hitting a pothole going about 20+mph that was submerged in water that was about 3'w by 1'deep & one of them got ground down(didn't break ) & i built it back up with excellent results.
To be honest, i have never used a barend that has rivalled the efficiency of them. Although i have never tried the Serfas which looks basically the same in hand positioning regards.
I don't doubt(or blame them) they shut the contact part of their website down, considering the way some people are.